To avoid harassment, teach young people respect

Also in Letters to the Editor: Don't remove local gators; cell tower issue should be put on the ballot.

To avoid harassment, teach young people respect

Dear Editor:

Shame that a key word is totally missing from your otherwise valuable harassment article. That vital word is “respect!” (Now-a-days this needs to be written to cover all combos of persons — awkward for this 87-year old writer.)

Do you (and your readers) agree that a “harasser” needs to show respect by promptly, permanently, terminating unwanted actions when the response is “no”? Easier to teach a child respect than an adult.

Respect has been a workplace mandate in employee handbooks at least since 1952, when I first was handed one. Any personal contact was called out as not acceptable between a boss and an underling.

Where I was employed, a middle management person was reported, interviewed and fired for a clear violation. He jumped out the window of his New York City high-rise office rather than face his family.

Shouldn’t all parents teach their kids to respect their parents, teachers and others when the kids are young, so respect becomes ingrained?

Ed Caroe

Palm Coast

Don’t remove local gators

Dear Editor:

Ran into a bike buddy of mine today — Friday, Dec. 8 — on the final leg of the Lehigh bike trail that goes between Old Kings Road and Colbert Drive. We rode together up to a point in the path where we encountered a pickup truck along with a government worker.

When we asked what was happening, we were told there was an alligator that was going to be “removed.” A complaint had been made about same gator.

Really! A complaint about an alligator in Florida …

The person indicated that since there was a complaint about the gator, it had to be “removed” as the government would be liable in the event something happened.

I mean, can this really be happening? There are signs at the beginning of the path warning of a possible encounter with one and not to feed, approach, etc. Yet someone sees one and they file a complaint?

If they are worried about a dog or young person being attacked, the dog should be on a leash and the parents should control their children. I would definitely think that the water moccasins that frequent the path would be more of a danger than a gator. Have they been complained about as well?

I think people should realize when they move to Florida they will encounter these animals and to just leave them alone and they won’t hurt you.

I am writing this in defense of the gator whom I “feel” was more than just removed. It makes me angry when people come from the city and expect Palm Coast to be the same. Florida’s natural inhabitants are beautiful and if you can’t deal with nature, don’t move here ... or at least stay off the bike path.

John Whitaker

Palm Coast

Editor’s note: The complaint about the alligator was made to Flagler County staff, according to county spokeswoman Julie Murphy. County staff members who checked the area the found the alligator and observed behavior deemed potentially dangerous, so county staff called the Nuisance Alligator Hotline (866-FWC-GATOR), and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sent out a trapper. The trapper reported that the alligator was in poor health and so emaciated that its body was smaller than its head. It was also blind in one eye. The trapper euthanized this alligator, but in some cases alligators are relocated to less populated areas.

Cell tower issue should be put on the ballot

The following letter was sent as an email to County Administrator Craig Coffey, county commissioners and members of the local press:

Commissioners and County Administrator Coffey:

I am a resident of Plantation Bay.

It amazes me as a Flagler County taxpayer that you all are able to make decisions for We The People of Plantation Bay and Flagler County.

The cell tower agenda that you all decided on should be put on the ballot for the taxpayers to vote on.

When you are making decisions on millions of dollars and the county has to borrow money outside of its budget, it is a decision that should be made by the voters, not you!

I would appreciate if this decision you all made be put on the November ballot.

I am not happy with the decisions that our Plantation Bay representative, Nate McLaughlin, makes for the people of Plantation Bay.

Joan Affatato

Plantation Bay

City, county should have protected us from 95-foot towers

Dear Editor:

If the mayor and council (well, most of them) and town manager expect us — the voters — to believe that these towers are going up and they or the previous administrators of this town knew nothing of the potential problems with this situation, then they either think we are all idiots or they are more clueless than anyone could ever imagine.

This is absolutely ridiculous — and, if true, scandalous — that the town knew this was a possibility and was unprepared to combat it. Former Mayor Mr. Jon Netts, former council members, Mayor Ms. Holland, City Council and county representatives should be held accountable.

This reeks if true as it’s been presented, and if nobody knew, it’s worse. That means these people voted in to protect us, preserve our town, were asleep at the wheel.

But seeing the way they’ve done business in the past, I’m really not surprised.